Process for space dyeing and texturing synthetic yarns

Abstract

A process is provided for space dyeing synthetic yarn in which the synthetic yarn, such as polyester yarn, wound upon a yarn package, is first treated by immersing the ends of the package into a solution of at least one sublimatable ink, thereby dyeing the yarn located at the ends of the package but leaving the yarn at the center of the package undyed, and then at least two ends from at least two such packages are passed through otherwise conventional drawing and texturizing apparatus. Each yarn so fed is intermittently dyed and undyed along its length, the color strength near the dye boundaries being attenuated and muted due to sublimation of the inks and diffusion and migration of the dyes through the yarn ends and into the package. By utilizing at least two feed yarn packages in such process having significantly different diameters and different colored ends thereof, very highly random dyeing effects are achieved in a knitted or woven fabric produced from such yarns. Also provided are the new, space-dyed yarns produced by the aforesaid process and fabrics produced from such yarns.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.